Duck, duck, draft

Being a New England Patriots fan watching the NFL Draft is like being a four-year-old with an older brother who has one of your toys and is holding it just out of your reach. Just when you think he is going to give it to you... he quickly pulls it away. Ha ha!

The Pats are on the clock with the 22nd pick in the draft... Not so fast... They traded back two spots. Now they have the 24th pick in the draft. Maybe they'll pick ... Wait. They've traded down again and now have the 27th pick. Come on! Give me that toy! Er, I mean draft pick! Mom!

So the Pats traded with the Broncos, then the Cowboys, moving down five spots but acquiring Dallas' third-round pick in the end. That's what Belichick does. He collects picks like I used to collect Wacky Packs. I'm in favor of his approach. The more young bodies you can get the better. The key is who the team picks when they actually use one of their selections.

The team's first-round pick, whenever it turned out to be, needed to address either the serious lack of pass rushers or the need to add some youth at one of the offensive skill positions. At the 22nd and then the 24th pick I exchanged texts with Mark, Jim, and Steve and we were all thinking that 6'-2'' wide receiver Dez Bryant would be a great choice. But the Cowboys took him at 24 after trading with the Pats. OK, back to the pass rusher. Jared Odrick, a DT from Penn St., and Sergio Kindle, a DE from Texas, were both available at 27. Either guy would fill the void left by Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green. Of course Belichick and the Pats had other thoughts. They always do. (No, thank goodness, not a tight end).

The Pats went cornerback with their first pick. 5'-11'' Devin McCourty from Rutgers is the newest Patriot. A cornerback? Certainly not what I was expecting. But in the pass happy NFL you can never have enough quality players in the defensive backfield. McCourty was listed as a top three cornerback in most of the scouting reports I had read before the draft, with most expecting him to go in the second round. He's considered a well-rounded player but not a shut-down corner. That doesn't seem like the ideal description of a player you want to take in the first round.

I felt a little better after McCourty's high school coach was quoted as saying he thinks he can be as good as the Jets' Darrelle Revis. OK, the coach seemed a little old -- and maybe a little senile -- but if McCourty has the potential to be anything close to Revis then this might turn out to be a solid pick. At the very least, with young players like Wheatley, Butler, Whilhite, and now McCourty, the Pats have a stable of young, athletic cornerbacks. That's never a bad thing. There doesn't seem to be a Chris Canty in the group.

Day one of the NFL Draft came to a close shortly after the Pats pick. It was the first prime-time draft, with just the first found being featured. (The draft resumes this evening with rounds two and three). Another great idea by the league. If the Patriots wind up with a top five pick next year thanks to the Raiders then I plan on making a trip to Manhattan to get a first-hand view of the first round. Now if I could only be sure Belichick will actually use the pick.